not often; " we rarely met"

Finely; excellently; with rare skill. See 3d Rare, 2.

Seldom; not often.

" Cecil is so rarely beautiful," she says, with the most perfect admiration. – Floyd Grandon's Honor by Amanda Minnie Douglas

Mr. Killigrew had his private secretary, but this gentleman rarely saw the inside of the Killigrew home; it wasn't at all necessary that he should. – The Voice in the Fog by Harold MacGrath

In those cases, however, it rarely ends happily. – Pebbles on the Shore by Alpha of the Plough (Alfred George Gardiner)

Hal and his wife came but rarely to Castlewood and Richmond when the chaplain and his lady were with us. – The Virginians by William Makepeace Thackeray

I had little use for money, and rarely carried any. – John Halifax, Gentleman by Dinah Maria Mulock Craik

As a matter of fact, this rarely happens. – Recollections of a Varied Life by George Cary Eggleston

Except for an occasional expedition to Highfield, she rarely left home. – The Luckiest Girl in the School by Angela Brazil

And I tell you our hearts were gigotting rarely. – The Dew of Their Youth by S. R. Crockett

Yes, yes It is not what I wish- but my father rarely changes his mind. – Gunman's Reckoning by Max Brand

Sir David one might rarely happen to see, except at a crowded party. – Biographical Essays by Thomas de Quincey

Since it can take at least half a pahar for a large cannon to cool, large guns are rarely fired more than once in a battle. – The Moghul by Thomas Hoover

Oh yes, but I see you so rarely. – The Golden Age in Transylvania by Mór Jókai

My eyes are doing very well,- better than my fingers, in fact,- and, as I rarely play by note after I once learn a piece, the eyes make no difference. – The Deserter by Charles King

The very best society was often to be seen on Boulevard Coblentz, and later on Boulevard de Gand; and may be seen sometimes, but more rarely, on Boulevard des Italiens. – San-Cravate; or, The Messengers; Little Streams by Charles Paul de Kock

Women rarely love a man who is bitter against any one but himself. – Don Orsino by F. Marion Crawford

It was rarely the case that he spoke to any one in the club. – Ralph the Heir by Anthony Trollope

I was vexed as I have rarely been. – Hugh Wynne, Free Quaker by S. Weir Mitchell

In any case, rarely today does an author need to use all or many of these stage divisions of an older day. – Dramatic Technique by George Pierce Baker